Monthly Tech Tip

We have an application in which we need a rubber bonded to a metal roller. The roller will see high abrasion from the wire rope that rolls across it and we need to understand the best rubber compound to choose for the roller surface. What do you recommend?

Additional factors need to be known before a proper recommendation can be made. Normally there are three types of materials recommended for their abrasion resistance and they are Natural Rubber, Urethane, and Carboxylated Nitriles.

Each has its own niche and special properties. Natural Rubber and Urethane are the most commonly used and they offer superb abrasion resistance. But, like all things, they have their limitations. Neither material is very good in applications where heat becomes a factor. Heat can come from the environment, or from stresses created by the actual application. The Natural Rubber material would be good for up to 158°F and the Urethane 200°F.

Urethane and Carboxylated Nitrile offer excellent abrasion resistance where incidental contact with petroleum products may occur. The Carboxylated Nitrile is going to be resistant to heat up to 250°F.

To recommend which one to use for your application will be dependent on the environment in which your part will be used.

Compounder’s Corner
The actual formulating (compounding) of these materials greatly affects the performance and abrasion resistance. The information above is a general statement about this type of application but specific proprietary formulations can alter the general rules. Compounding techniques that affect abrasion are filler selection, (carbon black or mineral), filler particle size, base polymer molecular weight, and many other types of materials which will lower hysteresis and coefficient of friction. The compounder has several options to choose from to help design a product specific to your needs.